2013 Tour of Oman - Stage 6 Results

French road race champion Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) clinched his first victory of the season at Stage 6 of 2013 Tour of Oman. The final kilometers of the last stage of Tour of Oman involved a circuit which inevitably led to a bunch sprint. Matthew Harley Goss (OGE) continued to add to his lengthy list of second position by beating Taylor Phinney (BMC).

The leader of the race, Chris Froome (SKY) ended up safely in the bunch to win the first stage race of his career. Alberto Contador (TST) finished second 27 seconds behind Froome. Cadel Evans (BMC) continues to improve and took third place in the general classification. Froome also won the points classification while emerging French talent Kenny Elissonde (FDJ) won the best young rider jersey.

Race Report

The course was designed to be tough and the finish of stage 4 on the Jebel al Akhdar [green mountain], at such an early stage in the season was intense. Three climbs over the new Al Amerat to Boushar expressway on stage 5 then proved to be a sting in the tail, setting the scene for possibly the greatest battle the Tour of Oman has ever witnessed between the eventual winner of the Tour, Christopher Froome (SKY) and second place Alberto Contador (TST). While overall leader Froome enjoyed a rather comfortable 27” lead over Alberto Contador (TST) and 39” over Cadel Evans (BMC) at the start of this sixth and final stage, there were still 144kms to be covered with possible upsets on the way and breakaway attempts to be mastered.

Blessed by beautiful sunshine, the 139 Riders left in the race took off from the Nawit Nagam Park and headed west to Muscat and a final circuit on the picturesque Matrah Corniche. After just a kilometre, Smukulis (KAT) was the first to break away. Shortly later, the Latvian was caught by two other riders: Kreder (VCD) and Di Corrado (BAR). Their gap grew rapidly over the unconcerned pack: 4’45 at km 8 and then 5’30 at km 19. The first intermediate sprint at Qurayyat (km 32) was claimed by Di Corrado over Smukulis and Kreder, while the pack remained 6’35 adrift.

It was then Smukulis’ turn to reach the top of the Qurayyat climb (km 39) in first position in front of Kreder and Di Corrado, while the gap reached a maximum 6’40. From then on, as teams Sky, Netapp-Endura and Argos-Shimano took on the chase, the leaders’ advantage dropped.

With 25 kilometres to go, the escapees only had a slim 1’05 lead. They were eventually caught on the final circuit on the Matrah Corniche at km 127. The pack remained bunched before the final showdown. After the third and final climb on the circuit, there were only around 80 riders left with a kilometre to go. The bunched sprint was eventually won by French national champion Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ), beating Goss (OGE) and Phinney (BMC) to the line.

Red jersey, Christopher Froome finished the last stage comfortably settled in the pack, therefore conquering his very first Tour of Oman victory. In the final General classification, the Sky leader wins with a 27” advantage over Contador and 39” over Evans. Froome also wins the points’ classification while 21-year-old Kenny Elissonde (FDJ) is the best young rider of this 4th edition and Bobbie Traksel (CSS) most aggressive rider.

2013 Tour of Oman Summary - Number Readings

1 - Number of multistage road race wins of Christopher Froome
1 - Number of HC multistage road race wins by a rider born in Africa
1 - Number of HC multistage road race top 10 finish by Kenny Ellisonde
3 - Number of Ag2r-La Mondiale riders in final top 10 of 2013 Tour of Oman

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2013 Tour of Oman - Stage 5 Results 2013 Tour of Oman - Stage 4 Results 2013 Tour of Oman - Stage 3 Results 2013 Tour of Oman - Stage 1